Saskatoon StarPhoenix Staff
From Humboldt to Paris, Paige Crozon is headed to the Summer Olympics.
The Saskatchewan product recently scored the winning basket that sent the Team Canada 3×3 women’s basketball squad to the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris. Here are five things to know about one of best hoopers to ever come from the province …
1 — All-around athlete
Crozon, who on Monday spent time with local basketball youth on the University of Saskatchewan campus, was an all-around athlete growing up in Humboldt. While she was a standout on the basketball court (playing three years of provincial team basketball, and guiding her high school team to a provincial title plus two bronze medals at Hoopla), she was also a provincial high school champ in volleyball and track and field.
2 — Role model
She didn’t need to look far for an athletic role model. Brianne Thiesen-Eaton (who went on to win an Olympic bronze medal in 2016 in the heptathlon) grew up in Humboldt, and was someone Crozon looked up to.
3 — Utah days
The 6-foot-1 Crozon is one of the greatest players in the history of the University of Utah women’s basketball program. A four-year starter and two-year captain, she was an all-conference honourable mention as a junior in 2016 and became the 27th player in program history to score more than 1,000 points.
4 — Multi-level
She has represented Canada at a variety of levels. In addition to the 3×3 senior national squad, which she joined in 2019, she has worn the Canadian jersey in the 3×3 under-18 world championships in 2011, the 2011 Pan-American Games, the 2010 under-17 world championships, the 2011 under-19 world championships and the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
5 — Off the court
A star on the court, Crozon is equally renowned on the sidelines. She manages the non-profit Living Skies Indigenous Basketball League in Saskatchewan, serves as an assistant coach with the University of Lethbridge women’s team, worked as an assistant coach with the Saskatchewan Rattlers in 2021, and was selected as one of 16 coaches in any sport to be named to the 2020 Canadian Association of Canada Enhanced Female Mentorship Program.
Every step of the way, Crozon travels with her young daughter, Poppy.
